Apparatus for producing felted fibrous board



Nov. 18, 1930. E. s. SHEPERD I APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING FELTED FIBROUS BOARD 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 6, 1928- Nov. 18. 1930. E. s. SHEPERD 1,732,215

APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING FELTED FIBROUS BOARD Filed Sept. 6, 1928 2 sheets -sheet 2 Patented Nov. 18, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT orrlcr.

EDWARD SHEPERD, OF ST. JOSEPH, MISSOURI. ASSIO'NOR TO ALBERT D. STEWART, OF

ST. JOSEPH, MISSOURI APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING FELTED EIBROUS BOARD Application filed September 6, 1928. Serial'li'o. 304,255.

The presentinvention relates more particularly to an apparatus especially designed for producing a felted fibrous board product as a continuous sheet.

. One specific embodiment of the invention comprises the combination with two rotatable forming cylinders geared together to rotate in unison of stationary end seals for preventing leakage.

Among the salient objects of the present in-' vention are to provide an apparatus making use of two rotatable forming cylinders geared together to'r'otate in unison, one preferably disposed on a plane slightly lower than the other; to provide an apparatus so designed l as to produce a continuoussheet of board of uniform characteristics; to provide an appa? ratus comprlsingtwo rotatable forming cylinders disposed above, and in communication with, a specially designed forming or pulp suspension receiving chamber, characterized in that the latter is located substantially cen- I trally between the two forming cylinders'so that the board as felted or formed passes up: 'wardly between the two cylinders, to which latter pressure is applied to secure the necessary extraction of water to produce a board isufiiciently dry to allow its transfer to a carryingbelt or other instrumentality leading to the press and drying parts of the machine; to provide in a construction ofthe character described stationary end seals attached to said pulp'suspension receiving chamber to effectively prevent leakage of the pulp solution to provide seals between the ends of the two cylinders and the ends of the adjacent forming chamber by providing grooves in each end of each forming cylinder disposed oppositely 'to' each other, in which the edges of the seals areadaptedto ride; to provide a stationary seal effectively performing its sealing function regardless of the rotation 6r lateral movement of the forming cylinders; to provide a stationaryseal-of the character described capable of automatically adjusting itself to all positions of the two cylinders; to provide in a construction of the character described longitudinal seals, in addition to the end seals,.

disposed between the upper outer longitudinal edges of the forming chamber and the adjacent cylinder to prevent leakage at .that point; toprovide a machine in which repair and replacement can be made very easily and very quickly; and in general to' provide improved appa'ratus' of the character referred to. P v

The utility of the invention as well as other objects and advantages will be more apparent from the following description.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is an end elevational view, partly in vertical section, of the apparatus of the present invention.-

Fig. 2 is a crosssectional view taken on line 2-2 of Fig, 1.

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view taken on line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an end elevational .view illustrating the connection between the seal and the adjacent end wall of the pulp'suspension receiving chamber.

Fig. 5 is "a fragmentary perspective sectional view illustrating the connection be- .tween the longitudinal seal and the upper parallel with the supporting-shaftsl and 1, v

these bars ,being'arranged with open spaces to 1 /2 apart) between them .to permit free and .unrestricted passage of water during the formation of the desired sheet of board. Over these wooden slats 3 a heavy bronze or other metalwire 4 is wound, preferably spirally, from end to endof the cylinder as a foundation to receive a covering of one or more plies of metal clothor screening 5 applied to complete a suitable forming surface for proper felting of the board.

The. forming cylinders are. journalled in suitable bearings for rotatable movement and are driven from any convenient and suitable source of power, the two cylinders being geared together'to insure 'unlform rotation relative to each other.

Pulp suspension fed under a hydrostatic head pressure from a suitable head box and of the consistency desired may be fed through either or both of the charging pipes 6 and 6 into the pulp suspension receiving chamber 7. The inlet 6 may discharge into the pulp receiving chamber 7 through a longitudinal.

opening 8, while the upper inlet 6 discharges through the longitudinal slot 8 at a point immediately adjacent the point at which the two sheets being carried upwardly on the forming cylinders come together. The arrangement is such that one kind of pulp in suspension may be fed in through the lower inlet 6 while a different kind of pulp, or of' different consistency, or clear water, may be fed in through the upper inlet 6, the lower and upper inlets being independently controlled by suitable means (not shown) for permitting this. While I have shown this particular design for chargingpulp suspension to the forming chamber 7, it is to be understood that I do not wish to be limited to this particularmethod of charging pulp to the forming chamber 7, as other means may be used within the scope of-the invention.

The forming chamber proper slopes upwardly and outwardly from the inlet 8- 12 follow the general form of the forming chamber 7 and, in addition, curve up 'wardly and inwardly along the lines 13 (Fig. 4) for a purpose now to be described.

As a feature of the present invention, each end of the forming chamber is sealed against leakage by means of a seal 14, which in the present instance takes the form of an inverted Y, the stem of theY terminating at a point disposed slightly above the upper contacting point between the two forming cylinders Fig. 1). One of these seals, which may be of rubber or metal and which may be either flexible or non-flexible, is disposed in engagement with each endwall 12 of the forming chamber through the medium of bolts or the like 15 passing through the holes provided for that purpose in the end wall and seal. The inner edges .16 of. each seal are .grooves 17 thus preventing any wateror-pulp adapted toregister with the forming cylinders through themedium of opposed annular from leaking beyond the ends of the cylinders. The grooves 17, may be formed by placing annular rings 18 onthe ends of the cylinders a suflicient distance away from such ends and at a depth of approximately 1%" to 2", more or less, to accommodate the seal.

These seals may be held securely in place against the end walls of the 'forming'chamher in the .manner described, thus holding the seals securelyin registration with the grooves 17 adjacent the ends of the cylinders. Due to the fact that each groove is preferably from 1% to 2 deep, more or less, and furthermore, since the edges 16 of the seals register in said grooves to the greatest pos sible extent whenthe cylinders are closest together, it is obvious that the cylinders may be adjustable laterally within a latitude of many inches without destroying the effectivenessof' the seal. This feature is accomplished by the provision of a seal simple in construction and yet very. efficient in use.

The operation of the machine will be obvious from the foregoing description. Pulp in suspension may be fed through either or both of the inlets 6 or 6" and from there to the inlets 8 or 8 into the interior of in the water will flow toward the surfaces of the forming cylinders along the inner surthe forming'chamber 7 under a hydrostatic-.'

faces of the walls 9. Water passing through the perforated forming cylinders will discharge beyond the longitudinal seals 11 while the fibers are,retained on the surface of each of the forming cylinders. Rotation is imparted to the forming cylinders which are geared together to rotate in unison through any suitable sourceof the desired speed.

The fibers forming on each of the cylinpower and at ders will be carried upwardly on the surface thereof to a pointwhere the two sheets are brought together. At that point, due' to the pressure imposed by the force holding the two cylinders together, sufhcient water will be extracted to permit the board 19 to be carried by forming cylinder 1- onto a belt 20 which conveys the wet sheet to suitable disposed about 4:" lower than the formingcylinder mounted on shaft 1.

During this entire operation water and pulp suspension will be prevented from leaking between the ends of the forming chamher and the surfaces of the forming cylinders through the medium of the effective seals 14. Scrapers (not shown) may be employed to register in each of the grooves 17 to remove any fibers or other foreign matter so that effective registration may be had between the edgesof the seals 14 and grooves 17.

It is to be noted that as a feature of the invention'the seals are stationary, but .are capable, because of the depth of the grooves 17 in the cylinders, of forming effective seals even though the cylinders should be moved apart for a distance of as high as 2", the

' acter made on the present machineto have any large portion of the forming cylinders submerged at any one time due-to the fact that water continuously dropping from the forming cylinder has a tendency to flow back down on the sheet being formed, causing thickness variation in the final product through re-floating of the individual fibers in water. Asa matter of fact, in the pres ent invention the forming cylinders are mounted over the forming chamber 7 in such a manner that the forming chamber coincides with, and is. directly below the nip where the sheets carried by the two cylinders come together. 1

As before explained, the amount of water contained in the board after it is stripped from the lower forming cylinder carried on shaft 1 is regulated entirely by the pressure applied by the ,two forming cylinders against the board by any suitable mechanism, for instance, through tlre medium-of a compression coil spring (not shown). Nor mally, the two forming cylinders are separated about fi to when no pulp is passing between them, this separation being brought about by an adjustable means (not shown). When pulp is passing between the two forming cylinders in the formation of a sheet the tension of the spring provides. proper pressure to remove the desiredamount of water from the felted board.

The particular product of the present invention may have any desired thickness up to or more, the thicker boards being particularly adapted for insulating and sound deadening purposes.

As before described, the specific design of the forming chamber '7 tends to carry the fibers charged in suspension thereto directly to the wire covered surfaces of the two cylinders as these surfaces enter the forming chamber past the longitudinal seals 11, thus forming the two outer surfaces of the board of the particular fiber that is fed through the lower inlet 8.

As another feature of the invention it is to be noted that the stock is fed upwardly and collected on the surfaces of the forming cylinders while they are both moving upwardly, as distinguished from those machines and processes in which the pulp is fed downwardlv and collects on the surface of the forming cylinders while the latter are moving downwardly. I Y

It has always been difiicult in the operation of the type of machine of the present invention to secure a perfect seal between the ends of the forming cylinders and the ends of the forming chamber. According to the present invention this sealing is accomplished in a very effective and economical manner, and while the seals are disposed to remain stationary, their simple and rugged design make them automatically water tight at alloperating positions of the two'cyliners.

Cross reference is made to my co-pending application Serial No. 304,254 wherein the other elements-of the'apparatus, i. e. fonrning chamber, dual inlet, etc., are reserved and claimed.

I claim as my invention:

1. An apparatus comprising in combination, forming cylinders geared together to rotate in unison, aforming chamber disposed below and in communication with said forming cylinders, means for introducing tosaid forming chamber pulp suspension under hydrostatic pressure, and means disposed on both sides of the forming cylinders for preventing leakage past the ends of the forming cylinders and the forming chamber, consisting of a stationary seal adapted to register with opposed grooves in said cylinders.

2. An apparatus comprising in combination, forming cylinders geared together to rotate in unison, a forming chamber disposed belowvand in communication with said forming cylinders, means for introducing to said formlng chamber pulpsuspension under hydrostatic pressure, and means disposed on both sides of the forming cylinders for preventing leakage past the ends of the forming cylinders and the forming chamber, consisting of a stationary seal adapted to register with opposed grooves in said cylinders of-a depth suflicient to permit adjustment of the relation of one cylinder relative to another without disengagement of said seal.

3. An apparatus comprising in combination, forming cylinders geared together to rotate in unison, a formingchamber disposed below and in communication with said forming cylinders, means for introducing to said fqrming chamber pulp suspension under hydrostatlc pressure, and means disposed on both sides of the forming cylinders for preventing leakage past the ends of therforming cylinders and the forming chamber, consisting of a stationary seal taking the form of an inverted Y, thestem of said Y being disposed at a point immediately adjacent to the point at which the sheet is formed. and the arms of the Y conforming in contour to the circular contour of the forming cylinders.

4. An apparatus comprising in combinapair of forming cylinders adapted to rotate through said chamber, means for. feeding pulp suspension to said-chamber, and an inverted Y-shaped sealing member fiXed to each 0f Said end walls, each-0f said sealing members engagingthe ends of both said cylinders.

' i 5. An apparatus comprising in combination, a forming chamber having end- Walls,

a pair oif forming eylinders adapted to rotate through said chamber, means for feed v ing'pulp suspension to said chamber, grooves in the opposite ends of said c-ylinders, and sealing members fixed to said end Walls and fitting intosaid grooves.

6. An apparatus comprising in, combination, a formingrchamber having end Walls, a 5 I pair of forming cylinders adapted to rotate through said chamber, means for feeding pulp suspension to said chamber, grooves in the opposite ends of said cylinders, and a unitar sealing member fixed to each of said end Wa ls, each. of said sealing membersfitting' tiinto the adjacent grooves of both said cylin In testimony whereof I aflix signature".

EDWARD "s. ,SHEPERD. 

